Observers call Southern Sudan independence referendum credible

International election observers on Monday called a landmark referendum on independence for Southern Sudan credible and said a vote in favour of secession looked almost certain, dpa reported.

"The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) assesses the voting process of the Southern Sudan Referendum as credible and well organized, in a mostly peaceful environment," the European Union mission said in a statement.

The EU's chief observer, Veronique de Keyser, told a press conference in Khartoum it was clear that voters had come out in huge numbers, surpassing the 60-per-cent threshold needed to make the referendum valid.

An observer mission sent by former United States president Jimmy Carter said the referendum was "broadly consistent with international standards."

"Based on early reports from vote-counting centres, it appears virtually certain that the results will be in favour of separation," the Carter Centre said in a statement.

Preliminary results are due by the end of January, with final results to follow after a maximum of two weeks. Early results point toward an overwhelming vote in favour of independence for the autonomous region.

The week-long referendum, which wrapped up Saturday, is the centrepiece of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war between the mainly Muslim north and the Christian and Animist south.

More than 2 million southerners died and 4 million were displaced in Sudan's second north-south civil war.

The referendum process had raised fears of a return to north-south conflict, but these concerns have been calmed by Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and his party committing to accepting the result of the vote.

However, many issues remain to be resolved post-referendum, including the final demarcation of the north-south border, which bisects Sudan's oilfields and leaves most of the precious commodity in the south. There is also the status of the border region Abyei to be decided.

Fighting in Abyei between northern and southern tribes claimed over 70 lives as the referendum got underway. A separate vote on whether the region goes with north or south has been delayed.

Should all go as planned, Southern Sudan is expected to be independent by July.